JEDDAH, Oct 30: President Pervez Musharraf has signalled willingness to accept the idea of demilitarization for the ultimate settlement of the Kashmir dispute while observing that the Oct 8 earthquake on both sides of the Line of Control had offered an “opportunity” to move forward on the issue.

“I am for demilitarization. If they agree to that, we will too. We are very flexible. We are absolutely open to moving forward to the ultimate solution. You can’t clap with one hand; you can only clap with two,” he told Arab News when asked if thought it was high time for people from both sides to do something for peace in the wake of the natural calamity.

“There must be political movement. There must be discussions between India and Pakistan involving Kashmiris that will lead to results. I am for these results. This is an opportunity. You are very right that we are spending too much money on the military,” he said.

When asked about charges levelled by sections of the Indian media that Pakistan had haggled on the issue of opening the LoC, he said: “It is unfortunate that anybody has said that Pakistan has haggled on the issue of opening of points on the LoC. Pakistan has been haggling on only one issue: Indian military personnel coming across the LoC. On no other issue has Pakistan haggled.”

Asking Syria and Iran to adopt a reconciliatory approach rather than a confrontational one in dealing with the United States, he said: “Anything that serves to increase confrontation should be avoided. We must concentrate on things which assist reconciliation instead of things which lead to confrontation.”

Asked what Pakistan’s role would be if the US opened a new front against Syria and Iran, President Musharraf said there were already too many fronts and they all needed to be closed.

President Musharraf expressed gratitude to Saudi Arabia for providing generous aid to the quake victims in Pakistan. “Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah and the royal family have shown great generosity and set an example for others to follow,” President Musharraf said. He also commended the spirit of the Saudi people for donating financial and material aid in support of the victims.

The president said it was unfortunate that in some quarters, especially in the Arab world, there was a misunderstanding about the recent contacts between Pakistan and Israel.

“Pakistan’s stance concerning the Palestinian cause remains unchanged; there has been no change whatsoever,” the president said. —Online